Sewing machine equipped with an automatic device for effecting variable pattern embroidery stitching



BUNSAKU TAKETOMI SEWING MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC June 20, 1961 2,989,015

DEVICE FOR EFFECTING VARIABLE PATTERN EMBROIDERY STITCI-IING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1958 R E A R N R n A A I x f A n W a I E I PK w m Q R w E mm Q Q\ R m Eng/Em EN E mm N June 1961 BUNSAKU TAKETOMI 2,939,015

SEWING MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR EFFECTING VARIABLE PATTERN EMBROIDERY STITCHING Filed Aug. 13, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\llllll June 20, 1961 BUNSAKU TAKETOMI 2,989,015

SEWING MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR EFFECTING VARIABLE PATTERN EMBROIDERY STITCHING I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 13, 1958 United Su 3mm 1 r 2,989,015 Patented June 20, 1961:

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SEWING MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTO- MATIC DEVICE FOR EFFECTING VARIABLE PATTERN EMBROIDERY 'STITGHING Bunsaku Taketomi, Chigusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan, assignor t'o Aichi Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha (Aichi Engineering glompany Limited), Kariya, Japan, a corporation of apan Filed Aug. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 754,828 7Claims. (Cl. 112 -103) This invention relates to a sewing machine for household use, which is improved by the equipment of an automatic device for effecting variable pattern embroidery stitching. The object of the invention is to provide an automatic device controlled and actuated through the cloth feeding mechanism and the driving or lower shaft which are usually provided in the existing type of sewing machine for household use, and adapted to obtain innumerable different patterns of embroidery stitching, without effecting any substantial change of the construction of the parts of the existing sewing machine.

The accompanying drawing will serve to illustrate specific embodiments of my invention, in order that its utility and functioning will be thoroughly appreciated. It will be understood, however, that these are by way of illustration onlyand are not to be taken as limiting the invention in anyway. In the drawing: h

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the sewing machine bed equipped with the device for embroidery stitching according to this invention; v

FIGURE Zis a side elevation thereon FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the head of the sewing machine; I

FIGURE 4a is a perspective view of an inner ring for stretching the cloth;

, FIGURE 4b is a perspective view of an outer ring for stretching. the cloth in cooperation with said inner ring; FIGURE 40 is a perspective view of an annular supporting frame for said cloth stretching rin'g'.

FIGURE- is a plan view of a modified formof the device for making various patterns of embroidery stitch- .ings';

present invention.

Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates a bed of ordinary type sewing machine for household use. 2 is an arcuate slotted le've'r forming a rocking lever which is fixedly mountedon the upper end of a vertical shaft 3 which is rotatably mounted in a hole in the bed 1. A block 4 is slidably mounted in the arcuate slot 5 formed in the lever 2. The-slide block 4 has a pin 7 having a feed pawl 6 engaging with a ratchet wheel 8. 43 is a driving or lower shaft making oscillatory rotation, which shaft being provided in ordinary sewing machine foi' household: use. To this lower shaft 43 is secured a cam 42' having a cam. face engaging with a roller 3" on the free end of an arm 3' which is fixed to the lower end :of the vertical shaft 3, as shown in FIGURE 2. The

j rotation of the lower shaft 43', the slotted arcuate'lev'er 2 ,win' beosoillatedabout the xis of the shaft 3; ass-homey arrows" in FIGURE 1.

The ratchet wheel 8 has an axis 9 which protrudes through a vertical hole in the bed and, at the lower end, it has a head 9'. Between said head 9' and the under face of the bed 1, there is inserted a leaf spring 9", so that ratchet wheel 8 is normally held pressed against the top of the bed 1 under appropriate 'frictional en gage'rnent. Upon the oscillatory movement of the rocking lever 2, the ratchet wheel 8 is rotated step by step by the action of the feed pawl 6. When the slide block 4 is maintained in the position in coincidence with the axis of the shaft 3', the pawl 6 is not operated and the ratchetwheel S pattakes no movement. When however the slide block; 4 is shifted to the position as shown in FIGURE 1 to obtain the maximum oscillatory movement ofthe pin 7, five or six teeth of the ratchet Wheel 8 will be fed through. a single movement of the pawl 6, thereby obtaining the maximum speed of rotation of the ratchet wheel. By such measure, the speed of rotation of the ratchet wheel 8 may be varied by changing the position of the slide block 4 relative to the axis 3. This adjustment of speed of rotation of the ratchet wheel 8 is one of the important factors for changing the pattern of embroidery as" desired.

24 is an annular frame supporting a cloth stretching ring which will be described hereinafter. This annular frame has a connecting bar 25 having at its fre end a pin 11 adapted to be inserted into one of a lurality of small holes 10 formed in the ratchet wheel 8 which are arranged at different radial distances from the axis 9,-- one of: said holes 10 being located at the c nter of the ratchet wheel, i.e. at zero distance position. Said connecting liai- 25 is shown as consisting of two parts, the outer extension arni 12 having a slot 12 into which a stiid 27 on the main part of the bar is inserted, so that the extension b'ar is slidably and adjustably connected to the bar 25, thereby the elfec'tiv'e length of the bar 25 may be adjusted.

An L-shaped slide plate made of sheet metallhavifig a transverse leg 13 and a longitudinal leg is slidably and tadjustably mounted on the bed '1. The leg 20 is longitndinally slidably mounted by means of slot 22 and a screw stud 23. The outer edge of the leg 20 is bent down wardly as at 21 to be guided along theedge ofthe' bed 1 when the longitudinal adjustment is eifected. Thetrans; verse leg 13 is provided with a shallow slide way 16, which a slide plate 17 is held in frictional engagement by means of a thin leaf spring 14 which is secujred toj flre leg 13 by means ofset screws 15. The slide plate 1 7 adapted to be moved transversely relative to the bed l by manipulating a knob 19 formed by bending one end of the plate 17. The connecting bar 25 extending from the annular frame 24 is slidably mounted on said slide plate 17, and is connected therewith by means of a slot 26 in the bar 25, a pin 18' in engagement with said slot 26, and a collar 18 pressing the upper face of the bar 2 5. By' such arrangement, according to the step-by-step rotati-on of the ratchet wheel 8, the annular frame 24 will be oscillated about the pin 18 in the longitudinal and verse directions relative to the bed 1. Referring to FIG- URE l, 46 is a feed shaft forming a part of cloth feeding mechanism found in the o'rdinarysewing machine for household use, which is adapted to be regulated by means of the feed adjuster lever 53 as customary in the ordinary sewing machine. To this feed shaft 46 there is secured a collar 47 having a tappet- 48 Pivotally mounted on a pivot 51 is a bell-crank lever 49, of which one arm is in engagement with said tappet 48. Another of the bell-crank lever is connected to one end of a Bowden wire 50 supported by a bracket 52.

The. cloth stretching ring consists of an outer ring 32 (FIG. 4b) and an inner ring 34 (FIG. 4a). The outer ring 32 has acir'cumferential' V-sliap'ed groove 32 and a circumferential ratchet teeth 33, and the inner periphery 32" is slightly taperedas shown. The inner ring 34 has its outer periphery similarly tapered to fit snugly the tapered inner periphery of the outer ring 32. Placing the cloth 35 on the outer ring 32, the inner ring 34 is pressed upon it so as to stretch and support the cloth therebetween in usual manner.

On the annular supporting frame 24, there are provided three rollers 28, each having V-shaped periphery engaging with the V-shaped annular groove 32' on the outer ring 32, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. While two of said rollers 28 are journalled on stationary axes, one of them, the roller 28', is supported by a lever 29 pivoted as at 30 and biased against the peripheral V-shaped groove 32." by means of a spring 31. The outer sheath 50' of the above mentioned Bowden wire 50, on the other end, is supported by a bracket 37 formed on the annular supporting frame 24. The end of the Bowden wire 50 has a feed pawl 39 engaging with the ratchet teeth 33 on the outer ring 32. Bysuch arrangement, according to the pperation of the feed shaft 46, the cloth stretching ring consisting of the rings 32 and 34 united together) is intermittently rotated through the action of the Bowden wire 50.

, The operation of the device according to this invention is as follows: When the sewing machine equipped with the'above mentioned mechanism is put into operation, the ratchet wheel 8 as well as the cloth stretching ring 32 having the ratchet wheel 33 are rotated intermittently, the stretched cloth 35 is automatically displaced relative to the center of the needle 36 along the path pro- ,duced by a combination of the above mentioned two kinds of rotation, so that a geometrical pattern of em- .broidery stitching may be produced. It will be noted that the pattern of stitch may be varied nearly indefinitely ,by varying the speed of rotation of each ratchet wheel ,or by varying the ratio of rotation of the ratchet wheels to each other, and/or by varying the stroke of the con- .necting rod 25, and/or by varying the position of the pin 18' by displacement in the transverse or longitudinal direction.

It is to be understood that while the present invention may be applied to the ordinary type sewing machine for straight stitching, it may similarly be applied to the existing type of zigzag sewing machines.

, In the modified form of the device shown in FIGURES S to 7, the annular supporting frame 124 has a connecting bar 125 having an extension bar 112 adjustably connected therewith by means of a slot 112' and a screw stud .123. A pin 111 on the free end of said extension arm .is inserted into one of a plurality of holes formed in a toothed wheel 108 at different radial distances, except- 4 ;ing one arranged in the center of the wheel 108. 102 is a rod oscillatably mounted around a pivot 103 adapted .to be actuated by means of a cam (not shown) mounted on the upper shaft or a crank which is found in the ordinary sewing machine for household use. mounted on and secured to said oscillating rod 102', there is a slide block 104, on which a driving fork having two pawls 106 and 106 is pivotably mounted as at 107. A switching lever 161 is pivotally mounted on said fork as at 162, and the long arm of said lever 161 is connected by means of a spring 163 to a pin 164 on the slide block 104. While in the position shown in FIGURE 5 the upper pawl 106 is in engagement with a tooth of the toothed wheel, when the switching lever 161 is turned clockwise so as to bring the line of action of the spring 163 to the opposite side of the straight line connecting the pivot 162 and the pin 164 said pawl 106 is disengaged and the other pawl 106 will be brought into engagement with a tooth of the toothed wheel as shown in FIGURE 6. By such arrrangement the rotation of the toothed wheel 108 will be reversed. Said reversal of the direction of rotation of the toothed wheel 108 will result in substantial change of the pattern of embroidery stitching, as will be hereinafter described.

The connecting bar is provided with a slot with Slidably which a stepped screw stud 118 snugly fits, and said stud 118 is screwed into one of a plurality of screw threaded holes 165' formed in the bed of the sewing machine.

Rotatably mounted upon the annular supporting frame 124, there is acloth stretching ring frame consisting of an outer ring 132 and an inner ring (not shown) substantially similar to that shown in FIGURE 4a. The outer ring 132 is provided with the rim having peripheral ratchet teeth 133 and is embraced by three ears 128' fixed to the frame 124. A lever 166 is pivoted as at 167 in an extension of the annular supporting frame 124. One end of the Bowden wire (similar to the Bowden wire 50 shown in FIGURE 1) is connected to one arm of said lever 166, and a feed pawl 139 is connected to the other arm of lever 166. The pawl 139 is pulled by a spring 168 so that it is normally held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 133. Spring 169 tends to turn the lever 166 in the clockwise direction. It will be noted that ,by reciprocal movement of the Bowden wire 150 by virtue of the operation of the feed shaft of the sewing machine, the cloth stretching ring 132 is intermittently rotated in the direction of arrow.

When the sewing machine equipped with the above mentioned mechanism is put into operation, the needle partakes a stitching operation as usual. According to this invention, the toothed wheel 108 as well as the cloth stretching ring 132 are rotated intermittently. By rotation of the toothed wheel 108, the annular supporting frame 124 is oscillated about the axis 118 and moved in the transverse and longitudinal directions relative to the bed of the sewing machine, producing thereby various movement of the cloth stretched on the ring 132 to produce a predetermined pattern of embroidery stitching, varying in accordance with the various combinations of five-variable factors, i.e. predetermined speed of rotation of the ring 132, the position of the axis 118, the speed of rotation of the toothed wheel 108, the distance between the axis 118 and the axis of the toothed wheel 108'. On experiments, it has been found that substantially indefinite numbers of patterns may be produced without the necessity of interchanging any part of the mechanism. It is believed that more than twenty thousand kinds of patterns may be obtained according to this invention. Four patterns a, b, c, and d are shown in FIGURE 9 by way of example. The pattern :1 having inwardly looped trace has been obtained when the toothed wheel 108 is rotated in anti-clockwise direction as shown in FIGURE 5, and the pattern b having outwardly looped trace has been obtained when the toothed wheel 108 is rotated in the clockwise direction as shown in FIGURE 6.

While the patterns a and b are composed solely of curved lines, other pattern composed of or containing straight lines, such as for instance patterns c and d in FIGURE 9, may also be obtained by slightly modifying the mechanism as shown in FIGURE 8. In this modification, the toothed wheel 108 is provided with an interchangeable cam 170, against which a finger 171 formed on the free end of the connecting bar 125 engages. The stepped screw stud 118 is inserted into one of a plurality of holes 172 formed in the connecting bar 125, so that the sliding movement of the bar in the longitudinal direction is prevented, allowing only the oscillating movement around the axis 118.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that according to this invention the cloth stretching ring frame is intermittently rotated at varying speed utilizing the adjustable cloth feed mechanism, and that the said cloth stretching ring frame is oscillated about the axis outside of the ring by means of the adjustable toothed wheel controlled from the driving or lower shaft, both said adjustable cloth feed mechanism and the driving or lower shaft being usually provided in the existing sewing machine for household use, and that by varying the speed of rotation of said cloth stretching ring frame, and/or of the adjustable toothed wheel, and/or varying the effective length of "the connecting bar connecting the cloth stretching ring frame and the adjustable toothed wheel, andlor by varying the position of said axis of oscillation of said connecting bar, it is possible to obtain 1nnumerable different patterns of embroidery stitch, and that the mechanism may be readily handled by those unskilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring stepwise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said cloth-stretching, ring, means operable in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart periodic oscillatory motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of :said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically, operably connected to said ratchet wheel, means providing a pivot selectively positionable in different positions on said bed about which said extension pivots in operation, and means to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said ratchet wheel.

2 In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable-embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring stepwise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawlthereby to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said cloth-stretching ring, means operable in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart periodic motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically, operably connected to said ratchet wheel, a stationary pivot on said bed about which said extension pivots, means to impart periodic, step-wise rotation to said ratchet wheel and means to connect the extension to the ratchet wheel at different radial distances from the center of the wheel.

3. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring step-wise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermitf tently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said cloth-stretching ring, means operable asserts in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart oscillatory periodic motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame ecccntrically, operably connected to said ratchet wheel, a stationary pivot on said bed about which said extension pivots, means to impart periodic, step-Wise rotation to said ratchet wheel, and a cam on said wheel operably engaged by said exten sion for imparting periodic oscillatory motion to said frame.

4. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring step-wise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic, step-wise rotation to said cloth-stretching ring, means operable in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for emb-roidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart periodic oscillatory motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically connected to said ratchet wheel, a stationary pivot on said bed about which said extension pivots, means to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said ratchet wheel, and said extension having means to vary the length thereof.

5. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring step-wise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic, step-wise rotation to said clothstretching ring, means operable in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising means to impart periodic oscillatory motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically connected to said ratchet wheel, a stationary pivot on said bed about which said extension pivots, means to impart periodic, step-wise rotation to said ratchet wheel, and including means operable to impart rotation to said ratchet wheel alternatively in opposite directions.

6. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed provided with a plurality of holes and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidering stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermit= tent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring stepwise, and attach-able means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said cloth-stretching ning, means operable in cooperation with said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart periodic oscillatory motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically connected to said ratchet wheel and having a plurality of spaced holes, a stationary pivot on said bed about which said extension pivots, inserta'ble in the extension holes individually and in selected individual holes in the bed and, means to impart periodic, step- .Wise rotation to said ratchet wheel.

7. In a sewing machine having a reciprocably driven needle, a bed, and a rotatably driven shaft, an attachment for automatically effecting variable embroidery stitching comprising, a cloth-stretching ring disposed for movement substantially transversely to a path of travel 'of the needle, said ring having peripheral angularly spaced ratchet teeth, an annular support frame rotatably supporting said ring and movable relative to the bed, means to impart intermittent rotation to said ring comprising a pawl operable to intermittently engage said ratchet teeth to rotate said ring step wise, and attachable means cooperative with said driven shaft for intermittently actuating said pawl thereby to impart periodic step-wise rotation to said cloth-stretching ring, means operable in cooperation With said rotation imparting means to vary the position of said ring relative to the path of travel of said needle to position the cloth in position for embroidering a predetermined pattern thereon comprising, means to impart periodic oscillatory motion to said support frame in timed relationship with rotation of said ring, a ratchet wheel mounted on said bed spaced from said frame, an extension on said frame eccentrically, operably connected to said ratchet wheel, means providing a pivot stationary in operation on said bed about which said extension pivots, means for selectively moving the position of said pivot, and means to impart periodic, stepwise rotation to said ratchet wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

